Islanders resurrect the fisherman for final season in Nassau

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As part of their final season before moving to Brooklyn, the New York Islanders will resurrect a widely reviled symbol from their past.

Neil Best, Newsday, reported the following information on Monday night:

Ahead this winter: a night in which, during warm-ups, players will wear a modernized version of the notorious "fisherman" logo that debuted in 1995, after which the jerseys will be auctioned off for charity.
Those jerseys already are available for purchase by fans.
Um, shouldn't the Islanders be trying to forget that logo?
"It's part of our history," [senior marketing manager Eileen] Mathews said. "I saw probably five to 10 people in Brooklyn wearing that jersey. I think it's gotten a cult following."
She said younger fans particularly seem to like it. That presumably is because they don't remember the first time around.

Five to 10 people is a reason to bring it back? Not that I'm complaining. I was 11 when the "fish sticks" jersey came out and therefore loved it — finding the old jersey to be stale and boring.

I've developed better taste over the years, of course, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited to see this happen — and at least it won't be used in a game.

The pre-game warm-up is a good time to showcase a stunt jersey like this. Wearing it in an actual games makes it a much bigger deal than it should be.

I'm also curious about the "modernized version" of the logo Best mentioned. How exactly will it be modernized? It's only 20 years old. And why not just go with the original logo unedited?

Another thing. He says the jersey is already available for purchase. Does that mean it's available now in the team store? Can any Long Island residents out there confirm that for us?

While we wait for more details, I'm eager to see how the Islanders market this event. Should be an interesting year on the island.

By the way, the story of how the original logo was returned to the jersey is readily available on the Isles' website. I highly recommend reading it.

So what do you think of this news? Excited? Scared?

UPDATE · Oct 7 · Check this out.

UPDATE · Oct 8 · If you're still wondering about the "already available for purchase" comment, I have some news to share from Brian Erni. He writes:

Weird little wrinkle to the Isles fisherman story. Neil Best's article said the "jersey was already available for purchase by fans" but I emailed the NVMC Team Store. Here's their response below.
"We are not selling the fisherman jersey.  The team is just wearing the jersey during warm-ups for selected game(s)."
Maybe just an error on Newsday's part, but who knows. Also, I find "selected game(s)" interesting. Could be more than one.

Something to keep an eye on. I'd be surprised if a warm-up jersey were put on sale to the general public. If you want one, you'll probably have to bid in the auction.

 

One of the world's greatest photos.

Nameplate-gate: Red Wings fans' annual panic attack

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This comes up every preseason.

And while the 2014 preseason is now over, I'm writing this post for posterity — so I can use it as a quick link reference during preseasons to come.

Every September, Detroit Red Wings fans and non-fans freak out. They tweet and email me about the "fact" that the Wings have changed the nameplate on their uniforms.

They haven't.

There's a very simple explanation. During the regular season, the Red Wings equipment staff creates custom arched name bars for each player. When you create that custom arch, the first T in "TATAR" cannot be swapped with the second T because arch skews them differently.

In the preseason, 50 to 60 rookies and prospects suit up for one or two games before being cut. It's therefore a waste of time and effort to make those individual custom nameplates for guys who won't be around very long.

To simplify the process — during the preseason only — the equipment staff employs a generic serif block font for the name bars where the letters can be quickly stitched together.

When the regular season opens, everything will be back to normal.

Breathe regular.

Lightning return to black with new third jersey reveal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning officially revealed their new third jersey today, and the theme song was "Back in Black" — literally.

Fans have been itching to have black back in the team's palette and the team has listened. The color was initially lost in the 2011 rebrand — despite the fact that the Lightning were the NHL's first and only black and blue team from the beginning. 

But now a wrong is being righted to an extent.

The new sweater is almost completely black. It deviates only with minimal white trim and a blue collar and shoulder patches. The BOLTS crest, however, is the one element carried over from the previous third.

If you're wondering how I feel about the jersey as a longtime Lightning fan, it's late at night and I need time to collect my thoughts. I'm going to go into more depth in a separate blog post which will include my interview with Lightning president Steve Griggs.

For now I'll admit that on first glance, my reaction wasn't too far from many of the comments I read on Twitter and Instagram throughout the day. I was underwhelmed and somewhat disappointed.

That isn't to say this is a bad jersey. But we all have our expectations and they can't all be met.

Meantime, flip through the photos and feel free to share your take below. I'd love to get a better sense of what you guys think.

Bolts prank players with fake palm tree third jersey

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The Tampa Bay Lightning pulled an awesome practical joke on a handful of players regarding their third jersey. And the video evidence is priceless.

As I may have mentioned, I'm in Tampa this weekend for the unveiling of the Bolts' new third jersey on Saturday. So I decided to catch Friday's preseason game against the Dallas Stars — which was excellent, by the way. I'll take a 6-3 win any day, exhibition or otherwise.

During the first period, the in-game host came out wearing a black jersey with the Lightning bolt on the front and stripes formed by rows of palm trees. To anyone reading this blog, it would've been obvious it wasn't an actual game jersey.

But it seems Lightning players are a bit easier to fool.

The hidden camera footage reveals player reaction to being told this is the team's new third jersey. Highlights include Radko Gudas saying, "That's sick! We have palm trees on the jerseys? That's amazing!"

Really, Radko?

Another guy called it a "Christmas sweater with palm trees on it." When asked how to fix the design, another said "maybe one row" of palm trees.

Yeah, that'll do the trick.

In all, a good joke, well-executed. If anything, it tempers expectations for tomorrow. No way to be disappointed when we can say, at least it doesn't have three rows of palm trees on it.

Be sure to keep an eye on the home page with my Twitter and Instagram updates all day tomorrow. I probably won't get around to putting together a blog post until later Saturday night.

Hope you enjoy the coverage!

Lightning release third teaser photo, set unveiling time

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This morning, the Tampa Bay Lightning shared a third teaser photo of their forthcoming third jersey.

In the progression of the pictures, we're slowing revolving around Stamkos. This latest shot gives us a glimpse at the back. We get a better look at the thick white stripes running down the sleeves and across the shoulders.

It also appears the name and number fonts are not changing from the primary uniforms.

The Bolts also announced the schedule for Saturday's Fan Fest. The third jersey unveiling is scheduled for 11:45am ET.

I'll be there with camera in hand to get photos to you right away. I'm also working to get an interview with someone from the team involved in designing the jersey. Can't wait!